Election time approaches

In one of the city's most highly contested races, eight people have put their hat into the race in an effort to bring new leadership to District 36. The incumbent Albert Vann has a nearly 30-year history reigning in the Central Brooklyn district on various governmental levels. Key issues for District 36 include affordable housing, police brutality, crime and education.

INCUMBENT:ALBERT VANN (RUNNING)

WHO'S RUNNING?

William Carrington

Robert E.Cornegy

Mark W.Griffith

David Grinage

Robert Hunter

Saquan Jones

Adrian M.Straker

Tremaine Wright

District 37--East New

York, Bushwick, Cypress Hill, City Line and Ocean Hill-Brownsville

Crime is a top issue for District 37, which is something the community wants to change, along with community and police relationships. But it's economic development that has the candidates who are running looking for ways to get votes.

Another Brooklyn community with a large number of Caribbean-born residents from Barbados to Jamaica, immigration is a key issue in District 40. Education is also a concern for many residents with schools that have limited resources. Candidates are also looking to bring economic development in the trenches of the financial crisis.

INCUMBENT: MATHIEU EUGENE (RUNNING)

WHO'S RUNNING?

Hugh S.Carr

Rock H.Hackshaw

L.Rickie Tulloch

District 41--Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill-Brownsville and East Flatbush

The second-largest Black population in the nation, District 41 has a Black population of 80 percent. The Central Brooklyn district also has high rates of infant mortality, HIV/AIDS and asthma, making health care a key issue. Poverty and affordable housing are also a priority for candidates to tackle, as well as improving public schools.

INCUMBENT: DARLENE MEALY (RUNNING)

Tracy L.Boyland

Anthony Herbert

Tulani Kinard

Rose Laney

District 42--East New York, Brownsville, East Flatbush and Canarsie

District 42 has one of the city's largest collections of public housing, along with a high unemployment rate. Economic development and job creation are key issues for candidates in the district. Crime is another hot-button issue that circles back to an even bigger issue: what to do with youth in the district.

INCUMBENT:CHARLES BARRON (RUNNING)

Carlos Bristol

Donnezzetta Brown

Godfrey Jelks

Winchester Key

Prince L.Lewis

Regina Powell

District 45--Flatbush, East Flatbush and Flatlands

The district is another Brooklyn community with a high number of Caribbean immigrants. But aside from immigration being an issue, residents want police-community relations to improve. District 45 is the site of the infamous 1997 incident between

the NYPD and Abner Louima. Education is also an issue candidates will speak out about along with crime.

Queens, District 27 is home to New York's Black middle class. The area has a Black population of 78 percent and the median income is close to $60,000. But while the area is celebrated as a home for well-to-do Blacks, the current economic crisis has raised the number of foreclosures on homes.

INCUMBENT: LEROY COMRIE (RUNNING)

WHO'S RUNNING?

Adrienne Hayes

Shaun McLaughlin

Clyde Vanel

District 28--Jamaica Rochdale Village and Richmond Hill

A large number of West Indian immigrants call this South Jamaica district in Queens home. The area serves as a hub for travelers who fly out of JFK Airport and use the Long Island Rail Road. The Van Wyck Expressway serves as a dividing line for the community. Jobs are a key issue in District 28, as well as more opportunities for youth.

Another haven for the Black middle class in Rosedale and Laurelton, District 31 has real issues in Far Rockaway, an area many say the city has forgotten. Home to public housing a great distance from the city, Far Rockaway has become a hotbed for crime, with a lack of youth programs and a need for health care.